Apparatus for handling coal



(No Model.)

' G. W. RAWSON.

APPARATUS FOR HANDLING GOAL.

Patented 0on1 v1889.

P TENT GEORGE W. RAWSON, OF CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

APPARATUS Foe HANDLING COAL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 411,902, dated October1, 1889. Application filed February 21,1889. Serial No. 300,682- (Nomodel.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, GEORGE W'. RAWSON, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cambridge, in the county of Middlesex and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Handling Coal; and I do declare the following to be afull,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to theletters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of thisspecification.

Figure 1 isa vertical and transverse section of a platform and bin orshed and a trackway for a train of coal cars, and also of the hull of avessel, showing my improvements for transferring the coal from thevessel to the bin or train of cars, as the case may be. Fig. 2 is afrontelevation of the apparatus.

The nature of my invention is defined in the claims hereinafterpresented.

In the drawings, A denotes the shed; B, the trackway; C, the platformerected on a frame work, and D the hull of the vessel.

The arrangement of the apparatus as illustrated is such as isparticularlyintended for use on a long wharf at which a number ofvessels can take position and lay alongside ready to discharge theircargoes, and said apparatus is adapted to be moved from one hatchway ina vessel to the other hatchways therein, and as soon as said vessel isrelieved by it of its cargo to another vessel, and so on, the coal beingtransferred from the vessel to cars, wagons, or to a bin, as may bedesired.

To the platform is applied a track E, extending throughout its length,and on said track the engine which hoists the coal-bucket is arranged,said engine being represented at F. To the uprights G are securedbrackets or other proper supports 1, which sustain a rail H, secured tothem, the length of said rail corresponding with that of'the track E.Supported on the rail H are shears J, to the feet of which are pivotedsmall wheels a a, grooved to partially embrace the rail, as shown, so asto admit of the shears swinging transversely of the rail as well asmoving lengthwise thereon. The top of the shears is connected by guys I)b to the frame of the engine, which admit of being lengthened orshortened to increase or reduce the swing of the shears as may benecessary to cause the bucket to be lowered into the coal lying oneither side of the keelson of the vessel. The feet of the shears areconnected by a rod h, on which is pivoted the eye of a hook c, the freeor hooked end of which swings under and bears against the rail H at apoint opposite to that of the bearing of the wheels a thereon andprevents the detaching of said wheels from the rail. To the top of theshears are pivoted sheaves (1, over which the hoisting-line K and theline L, for closing the jaws of the bucket M, pass to the drums operatedby the engine. On the side of the shears next the bucket is fixed aplate N, having guideprongs e, between which the lines of the bucket arearranged, and by which said lines are kept within the grooves of thesheaves during the working of the bucket and the swing ing of theshears. Arranged between the legs of the shears and fixed to the engineis a hopper 0, which near its lower end and on the side of it toward theuprights G is provided with a wheel or roller f to bear against a railP, secured to 'the uprights and extending throughout the length of thestructure. The nose of the hopper terminates a little short of the frontface of the line of said uprights G.

Fig. 1 of the drawings represents in dotted lines the shears as swungout over the vessel and supported by the guys I) and the loaded bucketas in the act of being raised, and as soon as the head-block Q, is drawnagainst the prongs e the shears will swing on the rail H and be moved upinto the position shown in full lines in said figure. By uuclutching thedrum on which the line L is wound the jaws of the bucket will open wideand deposit the contents of it into the hopper.

\Vhen the vessel is relieved of its cargo, or of that portion of itwhich can be conveniently reached from one hatchway, and the shears arein the position shown in full lines in Fig. 1, and it is desired to movethe shears, the hook c is first unhooked from the rail H, and the engineis next moved along on its track E, carrying with it the hopper, andalso moving with it the shears on the track H into position over anotherhatchway of the vessel to unload the remainder of the cargo, after whichsaid apparatus can be moved still farther along on the tracks E and Hinto position over another vessel.

By means of the apparatus hereinbefore described much time is saved inrelieving a vessel of a cargo that admits of being transferred inbuckets from said vessel to the place of deposit, as owing to thearrangement of the shears they have but little distance to swingcompared to that required for a boom as ordinarily used for the purpose;and, furthermore, an additional saving in time is also effected inmoving the apparatus from one vessel to another or from one hatchway toanother over the time required for a vessel to haul away from theapparatus afterbein g unloaded to make room for another vessel to comeinto its place or to be moved along to bring its other hatchway inposition under the shears.

Having described inyinven tion,what I claim 1. The combination of ahoisting-engine arranged to move on a track, a hopper secured to saidengine and movable therewith,

the rail H, the shears having sheaves d and guides e and adapted to movelengthwise on and swing transversely of the said rail, and the guys bI), connected to the engine and shears, with the hoisting-bucket and itsoperative lines, all supported, arranged, and operated essentially asshown and set forth.

2. The shears provided with sheaves d d, guide-prongs e, wheels a, andhook c, pivoted thereto, in combination with the hoisting-enginearranged to move on a track and having secured to it a hopper movablewith it, said hopper provided with a wheel to work against a rail P, therail H, supported as described, forsustaining the shears, the guys I) b,secured to the engine and shears, and the hoisting-bucket and itsoperative lines, all supported, arranged, and operated essentially asshown and set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix. my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GEO. WV. RAVVSON.

\Vitnesses:

S. N. PIPER, W. H. PRESTON.

